What to think of this? In the first couple episodes I couldn't u/s this acid trip. I peeped Wikipedia & learned that it's based on the classic 13th century (some of the stories are older) Chinese fantasy-quest novel: Journey To The West. The most outlandish elements of KO are taken directly from this classic. Having ruled out KO being devised under pharmaceutical influence, (in the 21st century, at least) I trekked on.
KO opens with an adorable little girl, actress So Won Kal. She's wonderful as young Jin Seon-mi, who is duped by Devil King, or DK, who may look like isn't a man, but he's really a 'monster.' He asks her to to collect something for him that's inside a magical chalet. His warning: Never acknowledge that she can see the being living in there. Why send a little girl you ask? He *knows* she can do this, b/c she is able to see spirits, he noticed.
Little Jin Seon-mi has gotten herself into the middle of a cosmic, centuries long game being played by I'll-do-anything-that-makes-me-look-cool Son O-gong (SOG) & DK. SOG is the being that's trapped, & Seon-mi is no match for him - yet. He makes a protection deal w/ her: If she will merely set him free, he'll come help her whenever she calls out for him. He'll always protect her. Once free, Mr. Slyboots removes his name from her memory. She won't be able to call his name now, & he'll never have to honor the deal. He didn't realize they were destined to work together to save the world, however.
Fast forward a couple decades. They meet again, & SOG is not indifferent this time. This time, he has the illest of intentions: He wants to eat her! She is, as it turns out, a Samjam - she's one-off-a-kind special. Consuming her will make any spirit or monster vastly stronger: Her very scent is intoxicating! He soon discovers their deal, actually does protect her...He can't proceed with said contract in effect. How about a new, #much-better-deal🤥? NOPE. She ain't trusting him again😶. He tries to get her to willingly agree- she's going to get eaten. At least he'll be gentle... Not a working strategy either. Aigoo, until he can figure something out, he'll have to protect her, so nobody else can get a bite in first.
I know, right? So WRONG.
Under his wing, the delightful world of monsters & spirits opens up to Seon-mi. They occupy the most coveted positions in the world: entertainment, business, politics, and so on. Though there are bulls, monkeys & pigs, etc, they look just like us. That allows them to blend in, while keeping the populace at large blind to their existence. Even Hyun Bin (from Crash Landing On You) is one! We mortals are powerless against them😅. When a CEO shows up to cook & clean at DK's house, we get a sense of the privileged life they lead.
KO is a visual extravaganza. The fashion is bold & exciting (yet Seon-mi is always understated). Much of the show takes place at DK's house. That's a good thing, because anyone would want to hang out in this glizy, luxurious, uber opulent abode. From the marble floors to the intricately composed walls of beveled mirrors & 1930's streamline gleam, everything shines. Most of us have never seen the like. Yet it still seems comfortable - a design marvel.
They add numerous touches to fill out the space nicely, such as putting Mrs. Ma (a dog) in purple lipstick to make her mouth look more dog-like. Another example is when they are looking for a mermaid. The hallway they walk is lit to look like wavy water. It's such details that separate the mundane from the marvelous.
There's clever juxtaposition. The other kids know she can see ghosts, so Seon-mi is picked on horribly at school as a child, because she's different. She sits down at her desk, taking note of the insulting hate inscriptions carved by her classmates, and slaps her ETHICS book down. This is the beauty of film. One could write volumes on the topic of bullying, and they were able to reduce it all to one slamming book. I always need a moment to geek out over morsels like that...
Ok, I'm back. The acting is good or better. Lee Se-young has 3 parts total, including Richie (my favorite character in the series). Cha Seung-won, as Devil King, must go through Samjang fits & display all manifestations of rage. They both just knock it out of the volcano.
We get a look at some fun relationships. SOG is a capricious, mean, surly, brat of a being. He & DK don't hate each other; they've just been playing tit-for-tat for centuries because they're bored. Neither one wants the other to perish, as that would make life even more boring. Hanging around the two of them when they're acting up is like a carnival ride. SOG & Seon-mi's dynamic goes from predator & mark to something quite different, over the course of the series. It's truly special.
There's heavy foreshadowing. Familiarity with this director and writer prompts a caution: Believe their foreshadowing. These two value Duty Over Pleasure. Here may be sniffles. Tears, even. In the scene that shows the darkest augury, black is the theme. It's heavy & dark feeling. Both characters are in black. As we get closer, we can see that one's wearing a shirt with gold trim over black on one half, & gold trim over white on the other. There is still optimism.
Now for some of the fun stuff.
°We meet the cutest, hot zombie ever. Lil sumpum for the boys....
°There's a group chat that's a well done running gag.
°SOG moves into DK's place without even asking. What he likes, he says, is that "Parking's not an issue." He's using 3 spaces, it turns out, & DK is in trouble with the manager over it. Parking's an issue, just not for SOG.
°There's oodles of ice cream.
~l°We see a CEO cleaning & cooking at DK's. He makes snacks for the kids. The CEO even cleans Seon-mi's fridge! Her assistant would have fainted over that.
°Speaking of said assistant, Lee Han-joo, he's comical. He's always terrified, as he can sense the ghosts around them, but can't see them. Ms Jin has kept him in the dark about her capabilities, but he knows things aren't quite right. °He's always thinking about quitting, but then something amazing will happen. As Jin Seon-mi gets tangled up with dieties & their agendas, mega stars & other mysterious beings start showing up at the office. He's not leaving now!
°One day he due to an emergency he leaves his kids with Ms Jin. When he picks them up, they refuse to leave at first. They saw (real) dinosaurs & PK, (the pop idol) the CEO made them snacks... and they got to play with a girl that can pop her eyeballs out! Ha! That one made me suddenly laugh so loudly, I scared the cat.
Now for a couple examples of how they bollixed it up.
~The undisciplined dialogue is the bigest flaw.
~There's too many contradictions.
~There's too much wavering back and forth, forth and back, and forth. And so on.
~Yet some things that weren't said were even more vexing.
~There's dead ends running amok. For instance, we're told that SOG has never felt real pain, but they also had informed us earlier that his heart was broken after being betrayed by a human. Later, that sunk to the bottom never to be heard from again. In the world of film craft, that's basically inexcusable. Quality productions don't do stuff like that.
~Finally, Lee Seung-gi looks Waaay better with the long hair. Why'd they cut it?
Here's the journal I kept while watching KO, until I gave it up, being at a loss~>
°It's so bad. Undisciplined, running amok all over the place. It's awful.
°Oh, look. Even Ritchie's in the group text. Look at SOG, trying to act like he doesn't care. It's too much for him. That's hilarious.
°This is so wrong. If he says he doesn't like to see her hurt, then why is he telling her he can't wait to get rid of her? He's the only one hurting her. This is frustrating.
°Ha! That one was outrageous. What fun.
°They all stab her in the back. They are all #monsters. She needs to run away. Go grab Jonathan, please! Save yourself!
°Hey, that kiss was something. They truly seem to care about each other. Sweet.
°PK, really? Feed (X) to (Y)? You're rotten!!
°(W), how could you work with a goddess to steal (A's) soul!?!
°That's so cute.
°No, it's awful.
°Just look at the way they look at eac..ch...othr.
°It's funny.
°It's turrible
°Why du I like it
°°I don... No do. Nonn em Emmmm
Augh!!!!! My head's exploding!
°°°Get out of my head!°°°
Conclusion: like dieties, it's up & down, but it dons the guilty pleasure genre like sweet smelling, comfy slippers. This show slapped a Guemganggo on me, and I'm liking it against my will. I hate it too. ...Maybe. It's doing to the audience what the characters do to each other. (Not for a second do I believe that's by design, but it would be awesome if it was).
Finally, there's an exploration of the idea of being forced to love someone. We aren't talking about a love potion where somebody's drugged into an obsession. In KO a flawed and selfish character is either forced to (truly) love, or given the gift of love, depending on how we look at it.
For the character, this is a wonderful feeling without losing the sense of self. Said character becomes a better, deeper person. If God gives us love, are we to enjoy it? Are we to be angry that it didn't originate from ourselves, or that we don't have a choice? No.
Love is a gift💝It's always a gift.
QUOTE:
It's dangerous to assume others think the same way you do. Thinking you're Ultimately different from others is also dangerous.
The reduction of the universe to the compass of a single being and the extension of a single being until it reaches God. This is love. Victor Hugo.
IMHO...
🎬7 🎭8 🤔5 ⚡6 💓8 🦋7 🎨9 🔚8
Suggested Age 15+
🍂
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